Wounded Warrior Hyland to perform National Anthem at Coca-Cola 600

When the national anthem is sung at Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, it will be performed by one special U.S. Army soldier.

Corporal John Hyland, who is currently assigned to the Brooke Army Medical Center Warrior Transition Battalion, will help honor America’s heroes when he sings the Star Spangled Banner before more than 200,000 race fans Sunday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Purple Heart recipient, Charlotte native, opera singer and NASCAR fan, will be part of the Let Freedom Race Coca-Cola 600 pre-race show that will honor generations of men and women, who have served, are currently serving or have made the ultimate sacrifice in the U.S. armed forces.

The pre-race show will honor veterans from World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War and even more modern-day conflicts including Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as active military currently serving worldwide.

Photo courtesy of John Hyland

U.S. Army Scout Cpl. John Hyland scoured enemy territory for combatants planting improvised explosive devices. Hyland was seriously injured when his Humvee ran over two antitank bombs.

“It’s a really big honor,” Hyland said. “It’s an honor for me to represent my country as an active duty Wounded Warrior, who has been able to come back and actually stand on my own two feet and sing the national anthem in front of some of the greatest people in the world, which are NASCAR fans.”

The story of Hyland’s life was recently published in The Weekend Starts on Wednesday, a book written by author Andrew Giangola, which honors the sport’s most remarkable fans. The book features more than 30 devoted NASCAR fans – from an 82-year old man who’s been to every single Daytona 500 to a male nurse who overcame the fear of heights by climbing to the top of Mt. Everest and then mounted a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series flag there.

“It’s a humbling experience and it’s hard to put it in words,” Hyland said. “I am getting so much attention and people really love my story. It’s an honor to be considered a remarkable NASCAR fan. I don’t consider myself remarkable, but I do consider myself a pretty strong NASCAR fan.”

Giangola, who is the director of business communications for NASCAR, helped convince Charlotte Motor Speedway officials that Hyland was the perfect person to sing the national anthem at this year’s Memorial Day weekend race.

“Our society casually throws around the word ‘hero’; John is the genuine article,” Giangola said in a NASCAR press release on Saturday. “He’s a vivid example of the enormous, life-altering sacrifices members of the military continue to make for all of us. John will be first to tell you there are tens of thousands of others just like him. These individuals’ selfless service is reason for great hope and optimism for our country.”

Hyland’s chapter in the book, “A Purple Heart and a Titanium Leg,” begins with a conversation Hyland had with Dale Earnhardt after The Intimidator wrecked at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it ends with Giangola vowing to help the Army veteran renew his passion for opera and singing. In between those two stories is an account of an incident that changed Hyland’s life forever.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Giangola

Cpl. John Hyland climbs into a Humvee at Texas Motor Speedway. This was the same kind of Humvee that Hyland was in when he was injured in Iraq on Sept. 11, 2007.

Hyland, who at the age of 33 joined the U.S. Army and trained to be a scout, an elite position that performs reconnaissance and enemy intelligence gathering missions. He was deployed to Iraq in October 2006 and was part of a small team of scouts that went into dangerous territories searching for combatants.

While on a special mission near Baghdad on Sept. 11, 2007, Hyland was seriously injured when his team’s Humvee set off two anti-tank bombs while going across a bridge. The blast crushed both of his feet and fractured bones in his back and pelvis. The incident almost took his life.

After being sent to Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to recover, Hyland arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He has had 33 operations to heal his wounds and on February 1, 2008, his lower left leg had to be amputated.

“For the last few years I would always say that I’m not the hero here” Hyland said. “People coin me with that word, but I’m not really the hero here. The medic that saved my life died four days later, along with three of my other best friends. Those are the heroes. I completely understand why people want to say that about me. To be able to sing and hopefully do it well on Sunday is a dream come true for me.”

While growing up near Charlotte, N.C., Hyland played the trumpet, percussion and sang in church choirs and high school musicals. At the age of 17, he landed a job at the track in Charlotte and served guests in the corporate suites above Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

After high school he enrolled in the North Carolina School of the Arts and began singing opera. He was an understudy for the Phantom of the Opera in New York and even performed at the Opera Festival di Roma in Italy.

Hyland said he struggled to make a living at singing and ended up working in the restaurant business where he met his wife Erica. The couple had two children while he ran several Hooter’s restaurants. While working at one of those restaurants in Washington, D.C., Hyland met and was inspired by members of the local police force. He returned to Charlotte, joined a private police agency and then met a U.S. Army veteran who influenced him to pursue a military life.

Since his accident in Iraq, Hyland has spent the past two and a half years trying to recoup both physically and mentally. He has undergone countless hours of therapy at the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center.

“It’s been tough,” Hyland said. “Some days are better than others. I wanted to be able to take care of my kids and be a good father and I knew that I needed to put it in high gear. You can’t spend time feeling sorry for yourself. For a while there I lost my soul and honestly I think through my singing I have found my soul again. I found what I believe God saved my life for.”

Hyland credits the U.S. Army doctors, nurses and therapists for helping save his life and getting him back on track. He said they helped give him a sense of purpose to keep moving forward in life.

“I truly believe that everything happens for a purpose,” Hyland said. “Every day I think about it and I have to remind myself that I need to get out of the bed and I need to do what I have to do today. The ultimate goal at the end of the day is to take care of my boys and to serve God. If I can accomplish those two things, then I’m not doing so bad.”

Hyland said two days after his leg was amputated, he was at the Center for the Intrepid at BAMC. He was in a wheelchair, both of his feet were extended out in front of him, he had a brace on his back, his left finger was bandaged and his body was all back and blue from the blast which had occurred five months earlier.

“There was a lot of tough love and I had an incredible therapist,” Hyland said. “I think they are some of the greatest doctors and nurses in the world. I’m here standing here today because of them. I’ve got a long way to go, I’m on my feet and I’m doing okay.”

During his long hospital recovery and stay, Hyland received the Purple Heart for Heroism. His hometown newspaper, the Charlotte Observer featured a story on him. NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick read the story and learned that there was no way Hyland could get home to Charlotte for Christmas from Brooke Army Medical Center.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Giangola

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick read about Corporal John Hyland in a newspaper. He arranged for Hyland to be brought home for Christmas and gave the family a custom van.

Hendrick called Hyland and said not to worry and that he would be home for Christmas. Hendrick, who owns some 80 car dealerships, delivered to the hospital a new handicapped-accessible Honda Odyssey, complete with a hydraulic ramp to lift Hyland. He also filled it with toys, shirts, jackets skateboards and bicycles for his kids.

Hyland said that he sat in his wheelchair and was just speechless.

“Going home to sing at Charlotte will be kind of a homecoming for me in a special way,” Hyland said. “The last time I was in Charlotte I was in a wheelchair and was on crutches and I didn’t’ even have a prosthetic leg yet. It’s been amazing that I’ve been able to come this far and kind of come full circle so to speak.”

Hyland added, “Over the past two and a half years I’ve been able to see a side of NASCAR that most people don’t get a chance to see. It boils down to the people and not just the drivers and team owners, but all of the different fans. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what your status is, a NASCAR fan is a NASCAR fan and I think we all are remarkable in that way.”

Hyland said that when he retires from the Army in July, he hopes to resume his singing career.

“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Hyland said. “Singing the Star Spangled Banner on Memorial Day weekend at one of NASCAR’s marquee races is hopefully the start of my new singing career.”

He may have already be on his way to a new career because after reading the chapter on him in Giangola’s book, legendary songwriters L. Russell Brown and Roger Cooke recently contacted Hyland. He is now planning on recording Brown’s classic “Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the Old Oak Tree.” The songwriting team is also composing several new songs for him to record.

“I believe there’s a silver lining to everything,” Hyland said. “Things happen in our lives for a reason. My injuries have provided me with the opportunity to hit the re-set button in life. I only hope that this is the start of good things to come.”

On Sunday evening Cpl. John Hyland will step up to the microphone and will sing before thousands of NASCAR fans. It will truly be a special moment when this special soldier performs the national anthem.